Fresh Metal: 1980 Cadillac Seville
The 1980-1985 Seville had unique styling
The all-new 1980 Cadillac Seville was quite possibly the most distinctive car in the world and the most advanced. It was a masterwork of classic and contemporary styling cues united in an unusually beautiful automobile. Its dynamic wedge-shape was a love/hate affair…either you liked it or you didn’t. Its front-wheel drive…Electronic Level Control…four-wheel disc brakes…and its sophisticated independent suspension made it world-class luxury.
It was a Cadillac styling tour-de-force. Had GM STOPPED cloning this car to EVERY division, it would have retained its exclusivity. The styling is what made the 1980 Cadillac Seville unique, it was unlike anything else on the road BEFORE the disastrous cloning. I am going to give this car its proper respect, this is why I am not going to mention the Seville after the 1980 model year. This is another signature performance…in the continuing saga of “As the Standard of the World Turns.”
This is the 1981 Seville, cars from this genre are rare today
The 1980 Cadillac Seville’s bustle-back styling was reminiscent of the early Daimler limousines, not to mention the Rolls Royce Silver Wraith from the 1950s. The Cadillac Seville set the styling standards for an entire decade, unfortunately, most of which was extremely distasteful.
This total re-design for 1980 offered considerably more interior room than its predecessor as well as more trunk space. The Seville was the most distinctive car in the world at the time. If it had been advertised with a little more finesse, panache, and savior-faire…and like I said retained its exclusivity…this could have been a legend, but bad-taste & avarice at GM ruined the charisma.
What was so horridly-ugly was the way it was advertised as “Seville for the 80’s, the first American Car with diesel as standard.” First of all, why in the hell would they put such an inelegant powerplant in such an elegant automobile? Evidently, if one could afford a Seville I sincerely hope they could afford real gasoline to power it.… I had to re-read the introduction to make sure I hadn’t misread what I saw!
Second, the person who thought up the idea to put a diesel engine in a Cadillac should have been conveniently and thoroughly slapped beyond recognition moments before their involuntary separation from Cadillac! I am NOT going to address that wretched little truck motor nor that Buick 4.1 litre V6 engine both of which in my opinion were extremely tacky which is precisely why I am going to ignore those facts. That was such a debacle and disgrace that it cost Cadillac a great identity loss…
The Seville’s new shape was aerodynamic with a new flush mounted windshield to reduce wind noise. It used a new one-piece high-strength rear bumper. This all-new design with its new front-wheel drive not only offered impressive roadability but added interior roominess due to the flat floor less the traditional transmission tunnel hump.
The 1980 Seville had extensive handwork on body finishing. The Electronic Level Control, four-wheel disc brakes, four-wheel independent suspension, teamed with its sophisticated front-wheel drive made it the most distinctive luxury sedan in the world. Seville for the 80’s was an automobile that blended classic elegance with contemporary stamina…all with manners. It was a new American standard for the entire world.
The 1980 Cadillac Seville was built on the “E-body” front-wheel drive Eldorado platform. This was the last Bill Mitchell design. This car was best equipped with the 6.0 litre 368 CID V8 with Digital Electronic Fuel Injection. Due to stringent emissions standards the 5.7 litre 350 CID with Electronic Fuel Injection was available for the California market.
New on-board computer diagnostics were part of the sophisticated digital electronic network to simplify service. The electronic network for the 1980 Seville was its new Electronic Climate Control with precision temperature control, Electronic Cruise Control, Electronic Level Control, its fuel injection system, and the most important component, the Computer Body Module. The Seville was one of the best engineered cars.
With the new Electronic Climate Control one touch of a button allowed temperature change as precise as one degree with digital accuracy. This system ventilated, heated, cooled, and dehumidified with one of the highest cooling capacities found on any car.
The heart of the 6.0 litre Digital Fuel Injection was a sophisticated system that used two electronically controlled injectors that metered a precise mixture of fuel and air to the engine. A digital microprocessor monitored barometric pressure, engine temperature, manifold pressure, and other variables.
The system compensated for aging of parts. It had an idle speed control which maintained a constant idle speed regardless of weather, load, or altitude. The new on-board computer diagnostics enabled the service technician to find and correct possible problems faster by pushing buttons that yielded a system code. Then another push of a button tells the technician if the issue was resolved.
The Ad campaign for the original 1975 Seville put Cadillac center stage. “Seville is a new expression of Cadillac excellence…international in size…timeless in styling…Cadillac in craftsmanship. Very simply, Seville is designed to be one of the finest production cars built anywhere in the world.”
The Cadillac Seville had become an enigmatic mystique. Its charisma reached epidemic levels by the 1980 model year. The “bustle-back” design was rather avant-garde for the day which made it the selling feature. The Cadillac Seville had become synonymous with glamour and elegance. It was the quintessential status symbol.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end…the Cadillac Seville spawned a decade of imitators such as the garishly embellished Lincoln Versailles…even the name was horrid, the grotesquely home-made Chrysler 5th Avenue which looked like someone’s mom made it, but the brass-blockhead award goes to the designer of that homely, distinctively nondescript Chrysler Imperial…you know, the one they revamped with that kitschy plastic gem for a hood ornament…
Which proved that all of Chrysler’s taste was truly in their mouths! I was ashamed for them when I visited a showroom with a friend. The “Seville-clones” became known as “the bad taste” era for the luxury car…where kitsch was king!
The Seville’s rakish styling began a copy-cat trend past the point of no return…the Seville by the 1985 model year had become an object of ridicule and the butt-end of jokes. It was so sad because the car had a brilliant beginning, its exclusivity was sullied by repetition…the once spectacular international size luxury sedan slipped into an irreversible obscurity.
The Seville Elegante was the most elegant version of this distinctive luxury sedan. Two-toned lacquer and a sweeping French curve augmented this signature series. The Elegante was the ultimate expression of Seville. Chrome plated wire wheel covers were a no-cost option. The Elegante trim option package was available in Sable Black with Sheffield Gray Firemist, Sheffield Gray Firemist with Norfolk Gray, and Canyon Rock with Desert Sand Firemist.
The Elegante had a posh European-inspired interior. Its 40/40 individual front seating had a locking leather trimmed center console. Plush Tampico carpets and a leather trimmed steering wheel added elegance to its luxurious ambiance. Leather upholstery was standard in two colors. The Seville for 1980 escalated the already luxurious sedan to new heights of comfort and convenience as only a Cadillac special edition could.
Even the standard interior for the 1980 Seville was everything desired in a world-class luxury car. Heather cloth was standard with a velvety-smooth touch or 10 colors of genuine leather was available. Standard features included: Electric Climate Control, power windows and door locks, 50/45 Dual Comfort front seating, Twilight Sentinel, power steering, Electronic Cruise Control, side window defoggers, power trunk release with power pull-down, Tilt & Telescopic steering wheel, Illuminated Entry system, Electronically tuned digital display AM/FM Stereo Signal Seeking radio with scanner and power antenna, lamp monitors, and seat belt chimes to name just a few of the many amenities that made the Seville the world-class luxury sedan that it was. And that was just the interior features. The 1980 Cadillac Seville was a car complete.
The Cadillac Seville was snobwagon supreme during its heyday. It was an international size masterwork of classic and contemporary styling. It had sophisticated electronics, a powerful 6.0 litre V8 engine, four-wheel disc brakes, four-wheel independent suspension, and exclusive on-board computer diagnostics making it a world-class luxury sedan.
The Cadillac Seville’s unique exterior styling hinted at the elegant Daimler limousines from the 1950s. This all-new avant-garde design won the world’s esteem. Unfortunately, there was a hit-parade of kitsch spawned from this elegant sedan that ushered in the decade of clones in extremely bad taste that were the “Laverne LaShinskys” of the automotive world. The haphazardly styled Seville clones from General Motors sullied the Seville’s exclusivity with austere, gaudy, no, grotesque replication.
The 1980 Cadillac Seville was indeed one of the world’s great sedans…that is if it was equipped with the 6.0 litre V8 with Digital Electronic Fuel Injection. The awful 5.7 litre make-believe diesel engine belonged in a truck, and that Buick 4.1 litre…should have remained at Buick neither of which should have ever come in contact with a Cadillac engine bay. What began as an elegant new approach to luxury ended as a nondescript puddle-jumper. This is a reality episode… titled “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”…in the continuing saga of “As the Standard of the World Turns.”
…Now a gallery of Sevilles…Eldorado Sevilles
The Eldorado Seville was introduced for the 1956 model year, the convertible was renamed Biarritz. The Seville was a classy hardtop coupe with its roof covered in Vicodec. The Eldorado Seville and Biarritz were the Cadillac Flagships.
The iconic Cadillac tail fin of the 1959 Eldorado Seville
The Cadillac Eldorado Seville hardtop coupe with Vicodec roof
Definitely-Definitive…the 1960 Eldorado Biarritz
The Vicodec roof covering was avant-garde for the day
Just more superlative-superlatives………in the continuing saga of “As the Standard of the World Turns.”
Will Cadillac ever have another LUXURY car?
NotoriousLuxury 
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It was either, late 1979 or very early 1980 when my girlfriend Lynn & I were shopping at Willowbrook Mall, the largest inary”shopping center in New Jersey at that time, that I “First-Ever” saw a 1980 Cadillac Seville! I was stunned!! I was so taken aback, that I actually remember turning to Lynn & saying, “That car is the most beautiful Cadillac I have ever seen since I first saw the 1959 Caddy, back in 1959”!!! There she was, a 1980 Cadillac Seville, “Elegante”! In all her glory,decked out in simply-gorgeous, tu-tone, Black & Silver! She was displayed on an elevated, “rotating” dias {Platform}, slowly going around w/ small spotlights highlighting her exquisite lines & curves.When her “rear-view” came into sight, I was speechless! I felt exactly the same way I did in 1959, when I first saw those two, beautiful rear fins!! That rear, sloping deck/trunk lid which some people refer to as “Bentley-Back” or “Bustle-Back”, was such a departure from the “Ordinary” Cadillac, that it caught me totally unprepared! From the rear, it was like looking at a Rolls, from the front it was Cadillac! I thought at that time: “Somehow, GM was able to combine the two distinctive styling ques, of the two most beautiful cars of the past & present,the 1957 Rolls Royce {and other years} with the 1979 Caddy Eldorado!! It was at that time, I turned to Lynn & said: I”m going to own one those Seville”s some day”!!! Which I did – five years later in 1985, I purchased right off the front lot of Brogan Cadillac, in Clifton, NJ. a “gorgeous”, Metallic-Gold, 1982 Cadillac Seville w/ a Brown “Roadster-Roof” & “Saddle-Leather” interior – simply “Breath-Taking”!!! She was the “Most-Beautiful” luxury car I have ever owned!!! P.S. By that time, Lynn was “long-gone”, but I finally had the one car, that I had so desired, for soo many years! I was very happy for myself & very proud of my “Gold-Cadillac” SEVILLE! “Thank You, for taking the time to read an “old-fellas” reminiscence. Sincerely, Art Melville
Hello Art! I am glad you enjoyed the article. This is why my selection is so diverse. Not everyone is looking at what’s available on the road today. Some enjoy the trip down memory lane. I will continue to write about the old Cadillacs. If you’ve noticed – there’s hardly anything on this site regarding the contemporary Cadillac models…because, they simply do not make cars anymore. Cadillac is just a façade, behind it is a hodge-podge of GM parts masquerading as a finished product. Until Cadillac makes a REAL car, I simply do not have anything positive to say about the make. Grandma always used to say ‘if you can’t say something good about a certain topic – leave it be!” So….NotoriousLuxury is leaving it be! Make sure to keep reading, you’ll find something else that will tickle your fancy while exciting your soul!
In need. 1980. Se ville. Elegate. Brown. Beige for. My. Boy
The Vehicle pictured is a 1981 Seville with a V8-6-4 Modulated Displacement Engine.
Yikes !! Cadillac : “grotesque overkill” + “Wretched excess”
What were these Earthliigs thinking?
It was the first generation Seville’s severe notchback that GM cloned all through the 80’s. Then the dinky ’86 Seville looked too much like the Grand Am and Skylark and 98 and Electra and….
The Bustleback looks much better to me without the two-tone paint, the chrome curve, and the fake wire wheels. They just distract from its unique lines.
I owned an 80 diesel Seville two tone gold and burgundy with burgundy leather interior. I wasn’t crazy about the engine but it was hands down the most beautiful car I’ve ever driven or even seen.
I owned an 80 diesel Seville two tone gold and burgundy with burgundy leather interior. I wasn’t crazy about the engine but it was hands down the most beautiful car I’ve ever driven or even seen. I would also add that as absurd as a diesel in a luxury car might seem now, it didn’t seem so in 1980. But the conversion of the Olds Rocket 350 was certainly misguided. They had almost as much horsepower and more torque than the 6L gas engine and it was no peach either.
I have a pristine Black/Silver 1980 Seville Elegante with 5.7 gas engine for California.
I love this car. So much charisma. Is it absurd? Probably, but it turns heads, elicits smiles and waves. You just don’t see them anymore.
Hello Jeff! MAKE SURE TO KEEP THIS CAR! Handle her with kid gloves. Wait until you see how much they are going to increase in value during the coming years. That was THE car back then and will once again gain the spotlight. Cadillac is no longer making cars – they are cloning German and other European cars. Cadillac ahs lost its ‘charisma’ and have all but faded into obscurity.
The classic bustle-back Seville is going to become a very very valuable classic car. It is the last Cadillac with “Cadillac-Style” and it will never be repeated. Congrats on your selection, you made a very wise choice. ESPECIALLY since you don’t have the diesel-powered version! How could Cadillac put such an inelegant powerplant in such an elegant car? That diesel crap almost cost GM a fortune in lost revenue…especially when all of the warranty work they had to do free of charge because their cars were JUNK!